


stuck with you

by onlyeverthus



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-17
Updated: 2015-12-17
Packaged: 2018-05-07 07:29:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5448290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlyeverthus/pseuds/onlyeverthus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose and Ten II get stranded in a snowstorm on Christmas Eve while on assignment for Torchwood, and Rose is not very happy about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	stuck with you

Rose leans heavily against the Doctor as they make their way towards the cabin in the distance. It's cold and snowing, and to top it all off, they're stranded, and she has a twisted ankle.

"A routine alien capture, they said. It won't snow, they said. You'll be home by Christmas, they said." There's a beat, and then she grumbles, "Bloody Torchwood."

The Doctor remains silent, concentrating on getting them both to the cabin in one piece, and not wanting to provoke her any further, given that it's sort of his fault they're in this mess.

When they finally reach the cabin, they can see that it's a sturdy, well-built home, likely a hunter's retreat, and the Doctor pulls his sonic screwdriver from its special pocket on his jacket to unlock the door.

They push inside, and he gives the switch by the door an experimental flick, confirming that the power has gone out.

Rose hobbles forward to collapse on the couch, hissing in pain as she lifts her feet onto the coffee table, and the Doctor moves to inspect the fireplace. It's wood burning, and he grabs several pieces of wood from the rack by the hearth, stacking them and then using the sonic to start a fire.

The fire grows quickly, illuminating the room in an orange glow, and the Doctor stays where he is for a moment, warming his hands and face by the fire.

When most of the chill has gone from his bones, he stands and turns to face Rose.

"Are you all right?" he asks as he moves towards her. "You should really put some ice on your ankle."

"It's fine, leave it alone," she snaps, waving him away.

Wordlessly, he steps away from the couch, pulling the communicator from his pocket. Their cell phones don't work this far out, but the communicator works on a different frequency, and he has yet to encounter a situation where he can't get a signal on it.

"Bad Wolf to Torchwood," he says into the communicator as he steps just outside the cabin. "Bad Wolf to Torchwood."

A voice comes on the line, and he relays their current situation to the operator, his heart sinking as he listens to their response.

"The rescue team can't get here until tomorrow," he says as he steps back inside the cabin, sliding the communicator into his pocket. "The snow's too heavy, and we're too isolated for them to want to risk finding us in the dark."

Rose huffs, and he can see she's shed her heavy jacket and her shoes, and he does the same before sinking down beside her on the couch.

"How's your ankle?"

"Hurts," she replies grumpily.

"Well, at least there's plenty of snow we can use to keep the swelling down," he says bracingly, giving her a smile. She glares back at him, and his smile fades before he turns his head away from her under the pretext of checking her ankle. She doesn't miss the hurt expression that crosses his face, though, and a beat later she hears him whisper, "I'm sorry."

She sighs softly and shakes her head. "I'm not mad at you. This isn't even your fault."

An arched eyebrow is his response as he turns to look at her again, and she gives a short laugh.

"I'm serious, I'm not mad at you, I'm just... cranky. My ankle hurts, we're stuck here in this bloody cabin overnight, and we didn't even catch the alien."

"Not to mention it's Christmas Eve," the Doctor adds, both eyebrows raised now.

Rose groans. "Mum is _not_ going to be happy if we don't make it back in time for Christmas."

"I think she'll understand."

Rose gives him a look, and he tips his head to the side.

"Okay, she'll pretend to understand, and we'll catch hell about it for the next six months."

"Better," she says with a smirk, and then groans. "I'm starved."

"Well, this cabin seems like it's regularly used," the Doctor says, pushing to stand. "Maybe there's something to eat in the kitchen."

"Unless you find some chips, don't bother," Rose grumbles as he disappears from sight.

A short laugh sounds a moment later. "Rose, you won't believe this."

"What?"

The Doctor returns, a bag held aloft in his hand and a broad grin on his face. "They're frozen, but they're chips."

Rose lights up, and in the next second, her face falls. "But there's no power."

The Doctor pulls his sonic screwdriver from his pocket, wiggling it between his fingers before disappearing back into the kitchen. He returns a few minutes later with a heaping plate of chips, along with two cans of Coke, a dish towel, and what looks like an ice pack, and sets everything on the coffee table. Grabbing a pillow from the couch, he puts it under Rose's feet to elevate her ankle a little, and then wraps the dish towel around the ice pack and gently lays it over her ankle.

"All right?" he asks, glancing up at her. She nods, flashing him a smile, and he sits beside her once more, the plate of chips in his hand.

"You have a setting for frying chips on your sonic screwdriver?" she says, looking amused as he places another pillow across their laps, and the plate of chips on top.

"'Course I do. Have to be prepared for anything."

Rose grins as she reaches for a chip, and takes an experimental bite. Her eyes close as she hums happily, and she pops the rest of it in her mouth.

"These are _gorgeous_ ," she says as she reaches for another one. "Well done. At least one thing about this night isn't terrible."

"Just one thing?"

Rose smiles. "Okay, being stuck in a cabin in a snowstorm on Christmas Eve isn't ideal, but at least I'm not alone. Stuck with you? That's not so bad."

The Doctor smiles too and leans over to kiss her, and they settle into a comfortable silence, the Doctor sliding his arm around Rose, and smiling again when her head drops onto his shoulder.


End file.
